64 miles total. 13,854 ft. northbound, 13,350 ft. southbound.
It does not really make any difference whether you go north or south in this section. There is a small e-gain advantage to going southbound.
The expected wind direction and speed might help me choose
northbound or southbound; In the Mt Adams portion of this section, you cannot
get away from a west wind, but in the Goat Rocks portion, if the wind will be
from the SW then I will go southbound and camp out of the wind near Elk Pass,
if the wind is from the NE then I will go northbound and camp out of the wind
high on the SW slope of Old Snowy. https://www.windy.com/?46.503,-121.449,14
When I plan an itinerary for this section, I start with planning the day that I will be at the summit of Old Snowy Mountain. I plan exactly how I want that day to go, then I plan the other days around that day. I am willing to do extra long or extra short hikes near the trailheads to make a just-right day in the middle. That is just my personal preference.
If you want to split the trail in two, then the Midway Trail head is the logical place for that. If you only want to do the Mt Adams highlights, then you can enter at the Potato Hill Trailhead and hike southbound. Besides Midway, you can also do just Goat Rocks from Coleman Weedpatch, Walupt Lake, or from Snowgrass. If you want to do Goat Rocks but skip Hogback mountain then drop out at Tieton Pass, but you will only save elevation, not miles.
The closest mobile phone tower is to the south on Flat Top Mountain. You should have good signal anywhere above 4,450 ft until you pass north of Burnt Rock.
[0 miles] Where the PCT crosses Forest Road 23 near the White Salmon River. This is the typical drop-off point for the Trout Lake Trail Angels. There is a reliable creek 0.11 miles from the starting point.
To carry as little water as needed up to elevation, I suggest you use FarOut to check the current flow Starting with Cascade Creek and working backwards toward your location. After you level-out at elevation (6,100 ft) there are a lot of water sources.
[0.82 miles] Williams Mine Trailhead and parking lot.
[1.05 miles] Swampy Creek is a reliable water source.
[2.31 miles] There is reliable water from a spring just before the intersection with Riley South Trail which goes N/NW to the Riley Camp Trailhead (backtracking would be faster if you need to bail).
[2.81 miles] Leave Gifford Pinchot National Forest and enter Mount Adams Wildernes. Here is also where you will enter an old burn zone that goes on for at least 5 miles. The burn gives you visibility of Mt St Helens to the west and Mt Hood to the south.
[3.4] Source of the White Salmon River. Just before the sharp switchback you should be able to get water. The creek may be dry across the trail but just a few yards below the trail there is a spring that is usually flowing. As you approach this area you may notice the thick green trees enjoying this water source.
[5.49] Intersection with Lake Camp Trail which goes NW to the Riley Camp Trailhead.
[6.09 miles] Intersection with Stagman Ridge Trail which goes south. This is your best chance for strong mobile phone signal.
[6.49 miles] Intersection with the Round The Mountain Trail to Horseshoe Meadow and Cascade Creek. If there is water here it will be full of sediment and glacial flower, so you will need to pre-filter or let it settle before you filter.
[6.82 miles] Once you are above 6,100 ft the climb is over for the next 22 miles.
[8.22 miles] High point next to The Hump. You will have good views of Mt Rainier
[9.49 miles] Burnt Rock. This is where you will lose mobile phone service.
[10.1 miles] Riley Creek is the first of 12 creek crossings in the next five miles. Not all will be flowing year-round but some will.
[11.3 miles] Mutton Creek is where you start crossing an old Lava flow. The flow ends at the next creek nearby.
[10 miles] Intersection with Riley Camp Trail which goes west to the Riley Camp Trailhead.
[12.7 miles] Intersection with Divide Camp Trail which goes west to the Divide Camp Trailhead.
[13 miles] Adams Creek
[14 miles] Intersection with Killen Creek Trail which goes west to the Killen Creek Trailhead.
[15 miles] Killen Creek Meadows
[15.2 miles] Battery Lake to the east, and Intersection with Highline Trail which goes east around Mt Adams. Stay on the PCT.
[15.5 miles] Shy Lake to the west
[17.6 miles] Intersection with Muddy Meadows Trail
[19.1 miles] Muddy Fork River
[19.4 miles] You begin walking around a lava flow.
[20.4 miles] Leave Mount Adams Wildernes and re-enter Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Note the trail is barely outside the Yakima Indian reservation until Cispus Pass.
[21.5 miles] Potato Hill Trailhead / Spring Creek Road
[23.5 miles] Midway Trailhead / Potato Hill Road
[24.1 miles] Midway Creek
[25.9 miles] Ponds
[27.2 miles] Landmark: After passing a large pond you will traverse a steep north-facing cliff, then down a ridgeline to an unnamed pass.
[27.7 miles] Enter Goat Rocks Wilderness
[28.3 miles] Intersection with Coleman Weedpatch Trail which goes NW to. 2.78 miles 1,544 ft elevation gain.
[29.8 miles] Landmark: after a sharp turn to the south you will traverse a steep east-facing cliff
[31.3 miles] Ponds
[34.6 miles] Intersection with Walupt lake Trail 4.29 miles 1,433 ft elevation gain. The pond that is 0.38 miles NW of the intersection is a nice place to camp and get water. (29.5 miles to White Pass from here. From the Walupt lake Trail head its 33.5 miles and 9,093 ft to White Pass). Coming up from Walupt Lake you can also get water where the trail touches the stream at about 4,786 ft. No need to carry up water. (Climbing to Camp Muir from the Paradise Lodge is only 4,689 ft.)
[38.6 miles] Walupt Creek is a dry creek bed in the late summer but may flow here until ~mid August.
[39.2 miles] Sheep Lake is a year-round water source and a very popular place to camp with a lot of camp-able space (so treat your water well). If you camp on the east side of the lake you have a nice view of Mt Adams to the south. If you camp on the west side of the lake you will see the top of Mt St Helens and Old Snowy. Sheep Lake is also the intersection with Nannie Ridge Trail south to the Walupt Lake Trailhead
[40.7 miles] You will go over a pass to the east side of a peak. You will be in the Yakima Indian Reservation until you reach Cispus Pass just ahead and go back over to the west side.
[41.6 miles] Cispus Pass (6,438 ft) you will go back over to the west side.
[42.2 miles] Cispus River. Here you will cross four branches of the Cispus River fed by two hanging valleys. Two of the branches dry up early, the other two flow late into the summer. I think you can safely assume that at least one will offer year-round water. The westernmost branch offers a waterfall that hikers like to use as a shower. You may need to wait your turn. The Cispus River valley is known to get high winds sometimes. The wind in the WA Cascades is most often from the SW and valleys that face that direction speed up the wind by compressing it.
[43.8 miles] Intersection with Bypass Trail to Snowgrass. 4.71 miles 1,789 ft From here the average elevation gain to the peak of Old Snow is 644 fpm. CHECK THE WEATHER on your inReach before heading up Old Snowy
[44.5 miles] Spring / Source of Snowgrass Creek. GaiaGPS has this side trail marked perfectly. This is your last reliable water source before Old Snowy. There may be some more water up-trail in July but I would not count on it. You only need water for five miles, but keep in mind the climb ahead of you and the lack of tree cover.
[45 miles] Intersection with Snowgrass Trail.
[46.3 miles] Old Snowy. Here you have three options:
1). Stay on the PCT and cross the top of Packwood Glacier, most likely in snow. CAUTION This is the only year-round snow on the PCT in WA.
2). Take the high trail up and over, which adds 451 ft. of elevation gain. The high point where the trails intersect is 7,596 ft.
3). Take the high trail and the side trail to the peak of Old Snow Mountain (7,900 ft), which adds 709 ft. of elevation gain and is 0.65 miles more compared to option 1.
Option 3 gets very rocky. Option 2 gives you the same view of Adams and St Helens, and an even better view of Rainier. So choosing not to summit is a reasonable decision.
[47 miles] Knifes Edge. As soon as the trails merge north of Old Snow you are on the Knifes Edge which is about 7,000 ft high. The ridgeline does not scare me as much as traversing the west side of the first peak after Old Snowy. 0.44 miles north of Elk Pass the terrain is a lot less steep.
[48.6 miles] Elk Pass. Intersection with Coyote Trail which goes NW.
[49.7 miles] Just before the Cowlitz River there is a smaller stream in a flat spot.
[49.9 miles] Clear Fork Cowlitz River. Get water here for at least 5 miles.
When you drop below about 5,450 ft you will re-enter dense forest and it will stay that way for about 6 miles until Hidden Springs.
[52.1 miles] Lutz Lake.
[53 miles] Tieton Pass. Intersection with NF Tieton Trail which goes east, and Clear Fork Trail which goes west. This is the lowest point between Muddy Fork River and White Pass. This is the 2nd most logical place to exit the trail, *But* there was a fire there in 2022 and that trail is a mess. You save very little distance by leaving the PCT but you spare yourself the 2,000 ft of elevation gain needed to get over Hogback Mountain. The Clear Fork Trail is 8.55 miles to Highway 12 and drops 2,478 ft. It makes no sense to enter the PCT here because you will have less elevation gain if you just start at White Pass.
Tieton Pass may have water but its doubtful.
[54.1 miles] The trail passes a swampy pond to the west. This is a flat area that may offer campsites.
[56 miles] Intersection with Hidden Springs Trail. At this intersection look south for a great view of Old Snowy, Knifes Edge, and Elk Pass. This is a nice side trip of 0.3 miles one way. It adds about 126 ft of elevation gain. Use route finding to get off the trail and head north to the spring. Hidden Spring is a green oasis in a burn area. Hidden Springs Trail is a great exit point for the PCT, but not a good entry point because the elevation gain is greater that just starting at White Pass. The trail is only 2.91 miles long with 2,446 ft of elevation drop when exiting the PCT.
[56.9 miles] Intersection with Shoe Lake Trail. This trail intersection is also where you leave the forest and re-enter an alpine zone. There is NO CAMPING allowed at Shoe Lake, it’s a protected area. Going to Shoe Lake will add very little elevation gain compared with the PCT route around it, but the climb out is much steeper. If you do not go to Shoe Lake and continue north on the PCT, you will get a good view of Mt Rainier to the N/NW. When you cross the pass that is west of Shoe Lake you will get a great view of the lake.
[58 miles] the Pass above Shoe Lake is the highest point between Old Snowy Mountain and White Pass (6,554 ft)
[59.2 miles] Hogback Mountain. The trail passes on the east side of Hogback Mountain.
[59.6 miles] After you cross the Ridgeline you will begin to see the top of two chairlifts. From here to the trailhead you should get mobile phone service, with the exception of when you are south of Pigtail Peak.
[62 miles] Intersection with Round Mountain Trail which goes east. Not a logical way to exit the PCT.
[62.2 miles] Ginnette Lake. The water here can get a bit skanky late in the year.
[63 miles] At the end of the sharpest switchback, at 5,000 ft there is a stream that flows year-round.
[64.1 miles] Trailhead, parking lot, Highway 12
Kraker Barrell gas station and convenience store is 0.5 miles to the west. You can walk the dirt road that is between Leech Lake and the highway.